With about six minutes remaining in the second quarter of their eventual 23-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, the New Orleans Saints executed a planned rotation at left tackle.

Asim Richards, who has been filling in for the injured Kelvin Banks, went to the sideline in place of Mason Murphy. New Orleans ran one series with Murphy on the field, going three and out, and then stuck with Richards for the remainder of the game.

Afterward, coach Kellen Moore said the Saints went into the game planning to rotate Murphy in on the third series.

“He’s been practicing well,” Moore said of Murphy, whom the Saints claimed off waivers from the Chicago Bears after roster cuts. “He earned that opportunity, and we would let the rest of the game play itself out.”

The Vikings stuffed Kendre Miller for a 2-yard loss on Murphy’s first play, in large part because Murphy was beat to the inside by Jalen Redmond, who swallowed Miller up in the backfield for the loss.

Murphy held up in pass protection his next two snaps, but Tyler Shough’s third and 5 pass fell incomplete, and Richards returned to the field for the next series.

The Saints have used some atypical rotations throughout this season, but they’ve mostly taken place on the defensive side of the ball, where they’ve played linebackers and corners off the bench for a pre-planned series here and there.

Teams typically do not rotate offensive linemen, but Moore dismissed a question about it impacting the team’s rhythm on the offensive front.

“I think we spent all week going into that plan,” Moore said. “I don’t think it was anything we did impromptu. We talked about it. We spent the whole week focused on that. I felt those other guys earned an opportunity to hop in there and contribute to our football game”